Child Armin x Reader: Little Soldier Boy
by MelodiousAlchemist
Summary: She was his best friend. His only friend. But, when your best friend is in the Scouting Regiment, you can't get too hopeful. Rated T just in case.


"(**Name**)!" she heard a familiar voice exclaim as she was nearly thrown off her horse. She groaned in pain, the boy immediately backing off of her. "O-Oh my gosh…" he squeaked, his eyes noticing the blood covering her uniform. He knew instantly that it was her own, seeing as how Titan blood evaporated soon after leaving the host's body. She leapt off of her trusty steed, gently patting his mane.

"Don't worry, Armin…" she said softly, gently patting his head. He smiled happily, his blonde hair fluttering about in the gentle breeze. "I can't believe you came back! How was it? Was it scary? Did you kill any Titans? What was it like outside the walls?" She chuckled at the small boy bombarding her with questions. "I'll tell you later, little one. Just like I always do. But, for right now, why don't you come with me and help me get cleaned up?"

She held out her hand, his own small one gripping it tightly. She walked with him to the stables, putting (**horse's name**) away in his stall for the night. "You did good, (**horse's name**). Go ahead and get some rest," she said, gently stroking his soft mane. She watched as Armin reached up, his small hand gently patting her companion's flank. He gave a low huff, pawing at the ground with his hoof at the small boy's touch.

This routine was always the same whenever she got back from an expedition. She would promise Armin she would come back, and she always did. When she got back, he would help her put her trusty steed away, and then go with her to her cabin and help clean whatever blood she had smeared on her skin off. She would then proceed to take him to the mess hall, sharing her ration of food with the small, blonde-haired boy. He would usually fall asleep on her lap, and she would let him sleep in her bed with her.

She knew his parents rather well, and they trusted her with their son. They were quite thrilled that their little boy actually had a friend, seeing as how he usually had to deal with the opposite. Even though the small boy was only six years old, he knew a lot more than he should, which made him the target of several older children who picked on him. She was his savior, however. When they saw him with her, a soldier of the famed Scouting Regiment, they immediately left him alone and apologized for their behavior before running off. This made Armin grow even closer to her than he was in the beginning, and she didn't mind in the slightest.

She felt the soft touch of a wet cloth slide across her cheek, and she gave a small smile at the blonde boy. He giggled, his small lips placing a gentle kiss on one of her wounds. She couldn't help but smile. This one boy was her everything. She treated him like her own son, and she loved him like her own too. "Thank you, Armin. Now come on. You must be hungry!" she said as she rose from the edge of her bed, picking him up and holding him against her chest.

His small hands gripped the cloth of her shirt, his cheek laying gently on her shoulder. She stroked his hair as she walked down the hallway, the softness beneath her fingers almost godlike. Opening the door to the mess hall, she was greeted by several exclamations of, "Hey, (**Name**)!" "Oh look! Little Armin is here too!" and even more from the rest of the Regiment. Armin honestly enjoyed the attention, but he always got extremely shy and would bury his face in the crook of her neck.

She got her daily ration of potato soup, and sat down at one of the tables. Armin sat on his knees on her lap, eagerly awaiting to share with her. She picked up her spoon, ladling some of the hot liquid into it and blew gently before letting Armin eat it. He was always careful when he ate, being sure not to waste a single drop of the precious liquid he was offered, for he knew that she needed to eat too.

The two of them continued eating until only a small amount was left inside of her wooden bowl. "(**Name**)… can you tell me about the…" He interrupted himself with a yawn, his head laying on her chest. "Outside world…?" She smiled softly, gently kissing the small boy on the top of his head. "Of course I can…" With that, she proceeded to tell him everything she had seen on that expedition; the crystal clear rivers of water, the hills with nothing but colorful flowers covering them, and her personal favorite, the large mountains she could see off in the very far distance.

"(**Name**)…" She looked down, seeing the small boy's eyes droopy with the need to sleep. "W-when I get older… can we live up in the mountains together…? Just you and me…?" She sighed softly at how innocent he sounded, her finger playing with a lock of his golden hair. "Of course we can, little one…" He yawned, his eyes slowly fluttering all the way shut. "Promise…?" Her breath hitched, but she quickly shook off the feeling in her chest. Leaning down and kissing his cheek gently, she nodded.

"I promise…"

12 Years Later

The sky was grey, and very dull. The district of Trost was nearly barren of life, seeing as how everyone was holed up inside their houses. All except three people. Up on one of the far hills inside the wall, three now fully grown soldiers stood. This was a weekly routine for the three of them, and this week was especially important. Two of them, Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman, stood a ways away from the golden-haired boy, their eyes locked onto the green grass in front of them. They watched as Armin made his way in front of a small stone, his hand placing a small, pink flower in front of it.

"(**Name**)… it's me… h-happy birthday…" he said, his voice low and shaky. "We still haven't defeated the Titans… things only seem to be getting worse. Sometimes, I fear that we'll never be able to see anything that lies outside of these walls…" He stopped, his hands gently gripping the grass that lay in front of the stone. "But… I can never forget how I felt that day…" he whispered, his hand moving to be placed on top of the cold stone. "But… I promised you I'd live in the mountains with you one day… a-and I'll keep that promise…"

He stopped, several tears falling onto the blades of grass that rested below him. "I'll never forget that day, (**Name**)…"

"_They're back!" Armin exclaimed happily, throwing open the door of his house and scrambling down the street. He knew that they hadn't completed their mission, but that wasn't what mattered to him. He pushed his way through the horde of people surrounding the front gate, managing to make his way to the very front. He looked around, his eyes sparkling as he tried to spot his very best friend._

_The soldiers kept coming through the gate, but she was nowhere to be seen. Armin's smile never faded though. She promised him that she would come back, and when she promised him, she always came back. He followed them back to their cabin, and several of the soldiers that knew him shot him a glance, their faces immediately drooping. Several of the female soldiers who looked at him had to look away to hide their tears, and this made Armin confused._

_He kept looking for her, calling her name. "(__**Name**__)! (__**Name**__)! Where are you? You have to tell me about the outside world again!" he exclaimed, weaving his way through the other soldiers. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned around to see a man with light-brown hair. He knew him, but couldn't quite remember his name. "Armin… please come with me…" he said quietly, beginning to lead him inside the cabins. He walked down the hall with the boy, stopping in front of the door to her room._

_"I knew it! (__**Name**__) is back!" he exclaimed, grabbing the door handle. Before the man could stop him, Armin burst through the door, a huge smile on his face. "(__**Name**__)! You're-" He stopped dead in his tracks, his smile fading ever so slightly. There, on her bed, lay her body. She wasn't moving, and her eyes were closed. She had blood trailing down her forehead and out one of the corners of her mouth, her hand on her chest._

_"(__**Name**__)…" Armin said, walking beside her bed. He grabbed the fabric of her uniform gently, shaking it slightly. "(__**Name**__), come on… you can't be asleep… you have to let me clean your wounds, remember?" he said, shaking her a bit more. She didn't respond, and Armin's eyes began to fill with tears. "(__**Name**__)… come on…! Please wake up…!" he exclaimed, crawling onto her bed and laying on her chest._

_He hugged her body tightly, the tears streaming down his cheeks. "(__**Name**__)…" he whimpered, burying his face into her clothes. He broke down, his tears drenching her blood-stained uniform. Lifting his head, he rubbed his hand on her cheek, cleaning the blood from her face. He moved closer to her, his lip quivering as he placed a kiss on one of her wounds. He sniffed, more tears falling from his eyes and his head being buried in the crook of her neck._

_The boy stayed with her for hours, crying until his eyes could cry no longer. He eventually fell asleep on her chest, his little arms wrapped as tightly around her as he could manage._

_**Her arm had somehow been moved over his small frame; as if she was giving him a final hug goodbye.**_


End file.
